1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system by means of which iron and steel samples are prepared for sample analysis.
For production control and quality assurance in the steel industry, samples are regularly taken in the course of processing and from the finished products. The chemical composition of these samples is determined by means of optical emission, X-ray fluorescence and combustion analyses.
It should be possible to prepare the samples fully automatically and in a reproducible manner in accordance with the requirements of the analysis apparatus, which might comprise, for example, the generation of a plane surface or the removal of small pieces by stamping.
2. Object of the Invention
It is the object of the invention to provide a sample preparation system for iron and steel samples, where the processing machines to be used for fully automatic and reproducible sample preparation are combined in a variable manner into a fully automatic unit, so that they permit the production of qualitatively perfect samples.
A further object of the invention is seen in the provision of a simply constructed and dependably operating clamping device for the samples, which, with short movement paths and small power expenditure, permits a compact construction with a large clamping range and a great clamping force.
The sample preparation system in accordance with the invention is composed of a modular unit, where it is possible to selectively assign a stamping device and/or a cutting machine to a grinding machine and where the two or three modules for the input and output of samples and transfer of samples are connected by transport systems, which results in the automatic movement of the samples into the preparation system and within the same.
The individual modules are equipped with processing stations, which perform high-quality preparation of the samples.
The grinding machine is furthermore equipped with a compactly built clamping device for the samples to be ground which, with short movement paths and small expenditure of power, has a comparatively large clamping range and great clamping force of its clamping jaws.
The device is simply constructed and operates in two clamping stages. The first clamping stage results in a movement of the clamping jaws towards each other by means of the axial twisting of a clamping disk, and the second clamping stage is attained by applying pressure to the clamping disk. In this way the clamping jaws are first preset to a larger range and subsequently adjusted to a considerably smaller range.